I’m trying to extract specific rows from a Google Sheets document through PHP code. I want to filter the data based on certain criteria, similar to how you would query a database.
For example, if I had a MySQL database, I might write:
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE status = 'active' ORDER BY name LIMIT 5";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);
I need something equivalent for Google Sheets. Someone mentioned using the Zend library but I’m not sure how to implement it properly. What’s the best approach to accomplish this task? Are there any simpler alternatives or step-by-step guides available?
I’ve been working with Google Sheets through PHP for a couple years and honestly just skip the official API completely. Use the CSV export method instead - way simpler for read-only stuff. Just add ‘/export?format=csv’ to your sheet URL and grab it with file_get_contents() or curl. Parse it with str_getcsv(). Only catch is the sheet needs to be public, but that works fine for most cases. No authentication headaches and you can still filter everything in PHP. Performance’s solid unless you’re dealing with huge sheets.
yeah, google sheets api v4 with composer is really the way to go. just get the google/apiclient package, set up your oauth creds, and voila! you can do range queries like ‘Sheet1!A1:D10’ to fetch the right data. no need for those complex libraries, the official client is pretty good for basic stuff.
Google Sheets API is your best option, though authentication was a pain when I started. Create a service account in Google Cloud Console and download the JSON credentials. Use Google_Service_Sheets to make requests. Here’s the catch - you can’t filter server-side like MySQL. You’ll have to fetch the range first, then filter in PHP. I grab bigger ranges and use array_filter() to match what I need. Works fine for smaller datasets, but with thousands of rows you’ll want to restructure or use Google Apps Script as middleware.